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Fire Safety Movie for Children in America. This is your chance to be heard. Talk to us, it's for the kids!
Hello!
I am new here as you can see. My name is Dave and I make movies! Movies like, The Crow, Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants and stuff like that. Anyway Let me get started here.
About 4 years ago the house next door caught fire and burned and though there were plenty of firefighters, 3 children died inside, upstairs, hidden in a closet.
As a father of two I was pretty paranoid at that point and so I decided to go and find some fire safety books at my local library. Low and behold, I found NOTHING. I found books on how to be a firefighter and of course books on firetrucks but nothing on actual fire safety.
I cruised the internet and found a bunch of cheeky junky fire safety movies, usually involving cartoon characters, but nothing REAL.
So I decided to make a movie for fire safety. I don't want to sell it, it's free. I want to make sure every child in America and beyond can see this movie.
I have approached several fire houses and spent the last 4 years learning everything I can about fires, how they act, how to put them out, how they move- everything.
I have been in 17 controlled house fires (Maybe you call them training runs)
The State of Pennsylvania has given me 7 houses to burn down, not for training for firefighters but for use in the movie, these are uncontrolled fires with cameras inside. The houses are furnished exactly how they would be if they had a family inside of them. Dressers have clothing in them, Televisions, kitchen utensils. It is like walking into your own house.
We have filmed some, but not all and I want to make sure, before everything is said and done that I have not missed one single tiny little trick, tip or anything that you can come up with.
This movie will be being sent to the US Department of Education so that they can distribute it to every single child in public schools in the United States in grades 1-5. That is over 45 million children. The cost of the DVDs and packaging is being covered by a few celebrities.
These are children, you have to SHOW them what it will look like, tell them how dark it really gets. Show them what a firefighter looks like. Imagine your 6 years old again, your house is on fire, it's very dark and mom and dad are no where around. The door opens and there's a figure standing there surrounded by billowing smoke and he has a MASK ON! Many children hide and they die. Hopefully after this movie is released, we will have less deaths in America as a whole.
We talk to our kids about the internet, we talk to them about bad touch good touch, but when was the last time you know of someone actually talking to their kids about fire safety.
That might seem like a funny statement on a firefighters board, but I know, and you know, for a fact, that someone here has not done it.
So I need you, the firefighters, responsible for saving lives, to tell me, what do YOU want to see in this fire safety movie for YOUR child.
I am new here as you can see. My name is Dave and I make movies! Movies like, The Crow, Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants and stuff like that. Anyway Let me get started here.
About 4 years ago the house next door caught fire and burned and though there were plenty of firefighters, 3 children died inside, upstairs, hidden in a closet.
As a father of two I was pretty paranoid at that point and so I decided to go and find some fire safety books at my local library. Low and behold, I found NOTHING. I found books on how to be a firefighter and of course books on firetrucks but nothing on actual fire safety.
I cruised the internet and found a bunch of cheeky junky fire safety movies, usually involving cartoon characters, but nothing REAL.
So I decided to make a movie for fire safety. I don't want to sell it, it's free. I want to make sure every child in America and beyond can see this movie.
I have approached several fire houses and spent the last 4 years learning everything I can about fires, how they act, how to put them out, how they move- everything.
I have been in 17 controlled house fires (Maybe you call them training runs)
The State of Pennsylvania has given me 7 houses to burn down, not for training for firefighters but for use in the movie, these are uncontrolled fires with cameras inside. The houses are furnished exactly how they would be if they had a family inside of them. Dressers have clothing in them, Televisions, kitchen utensils. It is like walking into your own house.
We have filmed some, but not all and I want to make sure, before everything is said and done that I have not missed one single tiny little trick, tip or anything that you can come up with.
This movie will be being sent to the US Department of Education so that they can distribute it to every single child in public schools in the United States in grades 1-5. That is over 45 million children. The cost of the DVDs and packaging is being covered by a few celebrities.
These are children, you have to SHOW them what it will look like, tell them how dark it really gets. Show them what a firefighter looks like. Imagine your 6 years old again, your house is on fire, it's very dark and mom and dad are no where around. The door opens and there's a figure standing there surrounded by billowing smoke and he has a MASK ON! Many children hide and they die. Hopefully after this movie is released, we will have less deaths in America as a whole.
We talk to our kids about the internet, we talk to them about bad touch good touch, but when was the last time you know of someone actually talking to their kids about fire safety.
That might seem like a funny statement on a firefighters board, but I know, and you know, for a fact, that someone here has not done it.
So I need you, the firefighters, responsible for saving lives, to tell me, what do YOU want to see in this fire safety movie for YOUR child.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Tom Chmielowiec Jr. on
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show me REAL firefighters, not some actor who thinks they are a firefighter, and let them lead the cast-
we go into schools on a regular basis (every year) to teach fire safety to the little kids- put that in there- show us in the schools, during fire prevention week in oct. show us out there promoting fire prevention/ safety b/c we are
i think the movie is a great idea, i also think fire companys should get copies to show at open houses- the more the kids see it, the better they know it.
thanks
Tom Chmielowiec Jr. "Junior"
Omnis Cedo Domus
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Permalink Reply by Dennis Brown on
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Good job Tommy jr you hit it on the on the head and put in there the parents should have a meeting place outside the house in case of a fire and have drills in home so the kids know what to do in a fire.Dave you are doing a wonderfull thing with this i hope it is success if one kid learns from this then we are moving in thr right direction
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Permalink Reply by Fire Safety Movie on
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We are using real firefighters. I need tips. Such as a Philedelphia guy told me about safety whistles. Some schools give out safey whistles to their kids so if they are ever in a fire and trapped they can blow on it...
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Permalink Reply by Ron Ayotte on
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Unfortunately, you got some "bad intel" there... The sound of a whistle will be muffled out by the sounds of fire apparatus operating, and the natural instinct of a child is to go and hide from the fire. If ther child is hiding in a closet with the door closed... you can figure out the scenario.
I'v'e been in the situation you described in your previous post... I was 7 when we had a house fire caused by the careless disposal of cigarettes.
The "cheesy cartoonish" fire safety films... you have to remember that cartoons and video games are what kids relate to... you have to get to their level to get the message across, and it has to be repeated throughout the film. For example, there is a video out called "Be Cool about Fire Safety" that uses both cartoon characters and live actors (Little Richard and Michael Winslow, the "human sound effects" guy from the Police Academy movies), songs and movie clips that get the fire safety message across. I used it when I was my FD's public fire education officer. We still have an active public fire education program in the schools for grades K through 3... basically, your target audience.
You can show the reality of fire, but you have to remember the audience. Explain things in simple terms... a child will understand that fire is hot and smoky, if you try to explain the thermodynamics of fire and smoke movement in building, you will lose them PDQ.
Good luck on your endeavor... it will be another tool inthe fiire safety education "aresnal".
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Permalink Reply by John on
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Very true I have a 4 year old and if it gets to be to indepth on anything she is bored and up trying to find something else to occupy her. Definitely gotta keep it simple.
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Permalink Reply by Tony P on
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Showing what it looks like in a burning house. Furniture burning. Hmm. What age group are you aiming this movie at? Have you spoken with teachers about how you intend to get the message across? I tend to be with Ron, cartoon characters can be exactly the way to impart information to young children.
I showed a group a video about fire last Sunday. The video wasn't scripted, it was real. It showed the intensity of fire, the chaos that can occur. It showed people having trouble coping with fire. At least one of the audience showed signs or real fear at the conclusion. The video was about an urban interface fire. The audience was a group of volunteers going through their recruit training. What might be the efffect of a truly graphic movie on a very young audience? Might it not scare them so much that they simply shut out the whole story? Gaining them nothing? Might it not provide a source for nightmares? Inciting fear is non-productive. Short simple messages and instruction have been shown to be successful.
As a firefighter who visits schools to try to educate children, I would look at your movie to see if I thought it worthwhile. I would look at anything that might assist in getting the message through. If I thought there was any chance that children might be scared, or worse still might enjoy the sight of fire, then I wouldn't show it. Have you thought of this last point? Remember, children don't always see things as we intend.
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